


Change

by chartreuseblueandyellow



Category: The Blacklist (US TV)
Genre: (cuz ofc it is), F/M, Reddington is his usual all-knowing self, set after 8x01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:40:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27628973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chartreuseblueandyellow/pseuds/chartreuseblueandyellow
Summary: Reddington continued staring at him and Ressler forced himself not to show how uncomfortable he was under Red’s intense scrutiny.After a pause, with absolute certainty, the other man said, “something’s changed.”
Relationships: Elizabeth Keen/Donald Ressler
Comments: 14
Kudos: 76





	Change

**Author's Note:**

> Like I said before, we all knew tons of new keenler fics were coming after that ep and because of that, I have a few WIP’s so stay tuned!  
> Lemme know what you guys think of this one!  
> Enjoy :)

A map was pulled up onto the large screen in front of them, plotting out sightings of Liz so they could get an idea of where she was heading. Reddington, and therefore Dembe, were there as well and Ressler was surprised to see, along with anger, disappointment in the older man's expressions. Whether that was aimed at Liz or himself, Ressler didn’t know. 

They were talking about Liz’s possible plans with Reddington dropping whatever insider knowledge he knew. Aram was clearly not enthused about treating Liz like a suspect. Park, relatively new to the task force, didn’t have the same feelings Aram did while Ressler could see Cooper was emotionally distancing himself in order to do things by the book. 

He really wanted to focus on what they were saying but, as it had been the last few days, his mind went back to that kiss. It had been something he had wanted, for much longer than he cared to admit, and it was everything that he had hoped, but the moment after had hurt him. Ressler knew Liz would’ve never used the gun on him, the hurt was from disappointment, that after all this time, she hadn’t trusted him enough. 

“Agent Ressler.”

His head snapped to Reddington and he was slightly surprised to see an almost apologetic look on the man's face. Reddington must’ve thought that Ressler’s thoughts were on the topic of being made to chase after Liz again because he said, “I know that chasing after your partner the first time wasn't easy and that, doing it now, after all these years, it must only feel worse.”

Ressler internally scoffed. If only Reddington knew just how much his and Liz’s relationship had changed, then he’d know how accurate his statement was. Pushing that down though, all he said was a gruff, “it’s not easy.”

Reddington paused and after a few moments, asked with suspicion in his voice, “what is it?”

Ressler knew Red tended to spout things out of the blue, but he had _no idea_ what he was referring to right now.  
“What do you mean?”

Reddington continued staring at him and Ressler forced himself not to show how uncomfortable he was under Red’s intense scrutiny.  
After a pause, with absolute certainty, the other man said, “something’s changed.”

Ressler forced himself not to show any reaction because _how the fuck did Reddington know?_ Trying not to let it show in his voice, he replied, “really? I don’t think anything has.”

Ressler felt everyone else’s eyes on him but he only looked at Red, trying to act normal.  
Reddington stared at him for a few more uncomfortable seconds and Ressler was about to say something but stopped as a slow, knowing smile grew on Red’s face. 

Ressler didn’t like that at all. 

There was _no way_ that Red could know. 

He tried to control his expression but the other man must’ve seen a flicker of worry on his face and, that action clearly being enough of a confirmation, Reddington burst into laughter. 

Yup, he really didn’t like this. Not being able to control himself, he roughly asked, “what?” 

Humour clear on his expressions, Red said, “I knew this day would come but, surely you can agree with me Donald, that the timing seems to be quite unfortunate.”  
There was a knowing look in Red’s eyes and, unfortunately, Ressler could tell Red knew that he knew exactly what he was talking about. 

Saying that however, he could try play dumb. He wasn’t ready to talk about it, especially with Reddington, and especially with the rest of the task force’s intrigued and confused eyes on him.  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

At his response, Reddington gave a full on belly laugh and, in this moment, Ressler decided that he had never found the man more infuriating. 

Cooper cleared his throat.  
“Anyone want to let the rest of us in?”

Ressler glared at Red. There was absolutely no way he was going to explain to Cooper what the unspoken conversation was about but, with mirth in his voice, all Reddington said was, “as amusing as this new piece of information is -“ Ressler scowled, “- it’s not pertinent to finding Elizabeth. Let’s just continue with where we were at shall we?”

Ressler finally looked away from Reddington and met everyone’s inquisitive gaze, though Cooper was more reserved about his interest. Ressler huffed and shook his head.  
“Yeah, let’s just focus back on what we were doing.”

Cooper stared at him for a moment before nodding and turning back to the map on the screen and Park raised an eyebrow before doing the same. Aram on the other hand, didn’t look away, his expression asking Ressler to explain what had just happened. Ressler sighed, shook his head, and turned to face the screen, trying to focus on what Cooper was saying. It was only a few moments later he felt Aram take his eyes off of him. 

Thankfully the rest of the briefing continued without anyone bringing up what had happened. Cooper and Park went off to do something and Ressler grabbed a file and went to look through it at another desk, knowing that if he stayed, Aram wouldn’t shut up about wanting to know what happened. 

Reddington and Demebe were on their way out but they stopped by Ressler. He refused to acknowledge them but, not fazed, Reddington spoke.  
“I don’t know exactly what has happened between you and Elizabeth, but I will admit, I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner.”  
Ressler stared intently at the papers in front of him, not reacting, and the other man continued.  
“I meant what I said the first time, what you know about her, what you _feel_ about her, makes all the difference.”  
Ressler felt his chest clench. He had been _so_ surprised when Reddington had originally said it, he didn’t think his feelings, though nowhere near as strong as they were now, had been obvious then. But clearly Reddington had seen. 

Not worried about the lack of response, Reddington kept on going.  
“I will say, after everything Lizzie has gone through, what you _both_ have gone through, it’s about time the two of you found each other.”  
And with that surprisingly serious and romantic statement (who knew Red had it in him?), and a pat on the back, Redington and Dembe left.  
Leaving Ressler alone with his thoughts. 

He wished that he hated Reddington as much as he did when they first met. Sure Ressler knew about the man's criminal and violent ways, and probably only a very small amount of them, but after all this time, Ressler had come to begrudgingly respect the man. And though he didn’t want to care, Red’s wishes for his and Liz’s relationship meant something to him. Though he would _never_ admit that to anyone, especially the man himself. 

However, nothing could happen with Liz still on the run.  
Ressler sighed and, shaking his head, went back to looking at the file.


End file.
